Beyond the Vision Pro and its successors, Apple will likely release its own version of “smart glasses” (most likely dubbed “Apple Glasses”), but isn’t going to roll out isn’t going to release any type of smart glasses until they have a device that’s going to catch on with general consumers. I don’t expect this to happen for a few years.. However, I would also love to see pursue a another type of glasses.
For example, how about smart glasses for folks like me with mild vision problems that would automatically adjust to what your eyes are focusing on? In other words, they’d automatically adjust for near vision when reading, intermediate vision when working on a computer, and distance vision when looking at things, well, in the distance.
Such technology already exists in its infancy. Well, I guess “infancy” isn’t the right word as such tech was demoed almost eight years ago by two companies: Superfocus and PixelOptics, both of which seem to have disappeared.
The company was supposed to make self-adjusting eyewear that would mimic the function of a youthful eye. At the time, ABC News described the tech this way:
“A lens in the front part of the frame adjusts to correct myopia, or nearsightedness. A lens in the back has two surfaces, a rigid and flexible one, separated by a clear fluid. To correct close up vision, you move a slider along the frame’s bridge to push around the fluid and alter the shape of the lens.
“The user touches the right temple to automatically toggle the prescription between reading and distance. Switching the eyewear into automatic mode enables the user to do a subtle head tilt (similar to the head movements used to control Google Glass) to change magnification.”
Since the original plans apparently never materialized, perhaps it’s a project that would tempt Apple. After all the company is focusing on health issues, and eye health would seem a natural extension. Who knows? Perhaps the tech giant could combine self-adjusting eyeglasses and AI smart glasses into one device.
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